Lock Up International is “a transient project space in storage units worldwide.” Its aim is to open up and make exhibitions in these locked places, making them accessible to anyone with an internet connection, as well as anyone actually able to visit them in person. Founded by Lewis Teague Wright in 2015, it is part of a growing movement of curatorial and artistic projects that extend outside of the commercial and institutional confines of white cube art spaces.
Wright is a graduate of Byam Shaw School of Art, which is now part of Central Saint Martins in London. An artist himself before founding Lock Up International, Wright gravitated toward curating exhibitions that “opens a discourse with artists” he admires and that allows them “collaborate on problem solving.” He was drawn to storage facilities as exhibition spaces for their affordability and “contractless” quality, in addition to them being “universal, definition-less and pre-existing.”
Having traveled extensively, Wright chooses where to stage exhibitions according to his experience on the road. Sometimes with the help of friends or contributing artists, Wright has already staged in London, Frankfurt, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Istanbul and Tokyo. On arrival in each new location he spends several weeks researching potential sites. He often finds himself on the edges of cities, noting that “access is often an issue for visitors.” While the shows are open for the public to visit by appointment, he adds: “I don’t feel inclined to make it too easy,” and he encourages “stealth in visitors.” Not only does this avoid attracting the attention of contracted security services whose employers might not approve of such unconventional uses of their storage units, it adds to the clandestine feeling that storage units evoke.
